December 24, 2017 Chapters 17A and 18 The Light Has Come (Christmas Eve) Sharing Gifts (Sunday on or after Christmas Day)
Note: this post will cover two weeks. My next post will be January 8
Blessed Christmas Everyone:
This past Wednesday at The Longest Night Service that was held this year at Sellersburg United Methodist Church, Pastor David Neuen talked about the time as a kid when he celebrated his birthday. One year his grandmother baked him a cake and put candles on it. When he went to blow them out, they went out for a minute and then relit...This process repeated itself a couple of times before his grandmother explained that these were trick candles. Most of us have seen those candles. They can be a lot of fun on an unsuspecting recipient.
He went on in his message to make the point that Jesus is the inextinguishable light. Try as he might Herod could not put out the light. Try as he might Pilate could not put out the light. Try as they might the Emperors of Rome could not extinguish the light.
It would be nice to think that people have stopped trying, but they haven't. As McLaren points out anyone who works in darkness would be quite happy if the light of Christ were extinguished today. "From pickpockets to corrupt politicians, from human traffickers to exploitive business sharks, from terrorists plotting in hidden cells to racists spreading messages of hate, they don't welcome the light..." (page 79)
The light began small...a child in a stable. The light began powerless...a child in a stable. The light began innocent...a baby born to poor parents in a tiny, obscure village.
Today, however, the light is large. Today the light gives life to all who embrace him.
On Christmas we celebrate that light. McLaren also focuses his attention to exactly for whom that light has come. Foreigners came to see the light. Egyptians helped shelter the light. Why are we so quick to dismiss the foreigner, be that the foreigner by nationality or the foreigner of a different religion? Perhaps the magi and the Egyptian do represent that the light calls us beyond our safety net of country and creed to reach beyond to find aliveness wherever truth lives.
May God bless you and yours this Christmas Season.
Sunday, December 24, 2017
Monday, December 18, 2017
Monday, December 18, 2017 Chapter 17 Surprising People
It has always been interesting to me when someone points out something new about the genealogies found in the Luke and Matthew.
I was especially intrigued by the phrase "Adam, son of God" of which McLaren writes, "to be the son of is to "find your origin in."
Adam finds his origin in God and so do we. We are all created Imago Dei--In the image of God. That Jesus is also the son of God...that Jesus also finds his origin in God is, as McLaren points out, a new Adam. And all of us who climb life in him are part of that new creation.
Like the women who appear in Matthew's genealogy, we too are the surprising people of today...not always good....but always redeemed through Christ.
All of this challenges me to live as a child of God, to live in God's image.
It has always been interesting to me when someone points out something new about the genealogies found in the Luke and Matthew.
I was especially intrigued by the phrase "Adam, son of God" of which McLaren writes, "to be the son of is to "find your origin in."
Adam finds his origin in God and so do we. We are all created Imago Dei--In the image of God. That Jesus is also the son of God...that Jesus also finds his origin in God is, as McLaren points out, a new Adam. And all of us who climb life in him are part of that new creation.
Like the women who appear in Matthew's genealogy, we too are the surprising people of today...not always good....but always redeemed through Christ.
All of this challenges me to live as a child of God, to live in God's image.
Monday, December 11, 2017
Monday, December 11, 2017 Chapter 16 Keep Herod in Christmas
One of the things I like about a religious writer is when they can take something quite complex and make it simple enough for me to understand. I thin McLaren does this in this chapter. On page 72 beginning with the last two paragraphs, he writes:
Herod--and Pharaoh before him-- model one way: violence...
The baby whom Herod seeks to kill will model another way. His tool will be service, not violence.
In many ways this is the simple message of Christmas. God invites us, through His son, to a new way of living. The "us" I talk about is not just "us Christians", not just "us as individuals" but the "collective us"--us as humankind.
Keeping Herod in Christmas is a reminder that we are made for more. And that this more will come only when we choose to service over violence.
One of the things I like about a religious writer is when they can take something quite complex and make it simple enough for me to understand. I thin McLaren does this in this chapter. On page 72 beginning with the last two paragraphs, he writes:
Herod--and Pharaoh before him-- model one way: violence...
The baby whom Herod seeks to kill will model another way. His tool will be service, not violence.
In many ways this is the simple message of Christmas. God invites us, through His son, to a new way of living. The "us" I talk about is not just "us Christians", not just "us as individuals" but the "collective us"--us as humankind.
Keeping Herod in Christmas is a reminder that we are made for more. And that this more will come only when we choose to service over violence.
Sunday, December 3, 2017
Monday, December 4, 2017 Women on the Edge
I want to break away from my reflection on the chapter and share on one of the questions found at the end of the chapter.
Question number 2 invites us to share a story about a woman in your life who had a powerful influence. Of course, there are a lot from my own family: my grandmother Clegg ( who would be 107 today if she were still living), certainly my mom and any one of my four sisters. All of them were powerful influences on my life.
But perhaps more than any of them, Sr. Barbara Fiand, SNDdeN, has had the most influence on me as a priest. Sr. Barbara was my spiritual director in seminary. I was fortunate in many ways to go to a seminary that allowed women to serve in that capacity. According to the rules of seminary formation, spiritual directors had to be other priests. I guess the rationale was that only a priest could really help a young seminarian know the day-in day-out struggles, joys, heartaches of being a priest. However, Sr. Barbara was a person who understood people. She was challenging when I needed to be challenged. She was gentle when I needed her to be gentle. She would never let me be complacent and always challenged me to be the very best person I could be. More than anyone else, she helped me to be the person I am today and the priest I am today. I was blessed to have her in my life.
What about you? Who are some of the women who have influenced you in your life?
I want to break away from my reflection on the chapter and share on one of the questions found at the end of the chapter.
Question number 2 invites us to share a story about a woman in your life who had a powerful influence. Of course, there are a lot from my own family: my grandmother Clegg ( who would be 107 today if she were still living), certainly my mom and any one of my four sisters. All of them were powerful influences on my life.
But perhaps more than any of them, Sr. Barbara Fiand, SNDdeN, has had the most influence on me as a priest. Sr. Barbara was my spiritual director in seminary. I was fortunate in many ways to go to a seminary that allowed women to serve in that capacity. According to the rules of seminary formation, spiritual directors had to be other priests. I guess the rationale was that only a priest could really help a young seminarian know the day-in day-out struggles, joys, heartaches of being a priest. However, Sr. Barbara was a person who understood people. She was challenging when I needed to be challenged. She was gentle when I needed her to be gentle. She would never let me be complacent and always challenged me to be the very best person I could be. More than anyone else, she helped me to be the person I am today and the priest I am today. I was blessed to have her in my life.
What about you? Who are some of the women who have influenced you in your life?
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